What does it mean to be under constant strain and in constant danger? How does this affect people? How do soldiers interact with the local population, and how do the locals, in turn, view the foreign troops? Twenty-five years after the start of the mission in Afghanistan, the Bundeswehr Military History Museum at Berlin-Gatow Air Base is exhibiting 35 large-format photographs by the Dutch photographer Martin Roemers.
Between 1997 and 2002, he accompanied and photographed the Dutch contingents on peacekeeping missions in the Balkans and at the start of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. These events took place over two decades ago, but the atmosphere captured in the images – the situations in the field camps, on patrol, at the checkpoints and in direct contact with the people – remains timelessly relevant to the WAR ZONES of this world.
It was not only in the Balkans and Afghanistan that Dutch and German soldiers were close partners. The armed forces of both countries generally maintain a very close cooperation that is unparalleled in Europe and which is also honoured in this exhibition.